Blackened Shrimp Tacos

I had half a pound of frozen shrimp (30/40 count) in my freezer leftover from making Blackened Shrimp Pasta, so I decided to try Blackened Shrimp a new way—Blacked Shrimp Tacos! Because tacos are always good, right??

The blackened shrimp is so simple and so extremely flavorful that they can pretty much carry the tacos themselves. I added a super simple slaw to bulk up the dish and to balance the spicy blackening seasoning. The slight sweetness of the slaw and its tangy Dijon mustard are absolutely perfect with the smoky heat of the blackened shrimp. And then I wanted the Blackened Shrimp Tacos to have just a little more pizzaz, so I whipped up a small batch of smoky garlic lime sauce to drizzle on top.

The flavor play between the blackened shrimp, slaw, and smoky garlic lime sauce is AMAZING.

Blackened Shrimp Tacos

Toast Your Tortillas!

One tip that I always give for tacos is to always toast the corn tortillas first. It really magnifies their flavor and helps strengthen the tacos so that you can stuff ’em full without them ripping apart. I’ve included a photo of my favorite brand, which have proven to be quite sturdy, in the step-by-steps below.

Serving Sizes

The batch below is fairly small because I only had a half pound of shrimp on hand. With 30/40 count shrimp that meant I had 18 individual shrimp. I put three shrimp in each taco, so that gave me six tacos. Whether you eat 2 or 3 tacos per “serving” is really subjective, so I just listed the price as per taco rather than a suggested servings size.

TACOS

1/2lbpeeled and deveined shrimp (30/40 count)($4.00)

1Tbspbutter($0.13)

1clovegarlic, minced($0.08)

6smallcorn tortillas($0.30)

3green onions, sliced($0.28)

Instructions

To prepare the coleslaw dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, honey, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Place the coleslaw mix and sliced green onions in a bowl and add about 3/4 of the dressing. Stir until everything is coated in dressing, then add more dressing if desired. Refrigerate the slaw until ready to serve.

To prepare the smoky garlic lime sauce, stir together the mayonnaise, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and the juice from half a lime (about 1 Tbsp) in a small bowl. Save the other half of the lime to serve as wedges with the finished tacos.

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, toast the tortillas on each side until browned on the edges. Place the toasted tortillas on stacked on a plate and covered with a towel until ready to serve.

Prepare the blackening seasoning by stirring together the smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Pour the seasoning over the shrimp and stir until the shrimp are coated.

Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet. Cook over medium heat for about one minute, or until the garlic is fragrant and slightly softened. Add the seasoned shrimp and sauté just until the shrimp is firm (about 3-5 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat to prevent over cooking the shrimp.

To serve the tacos, place about 1/4 cup coleslaw in each tortilla, top with 3 shrimp, a drizzle of the smoky garlic lime sauce, and a few sliced green onions. Squeeze a wedge of fresh lime over top.

Step by Step Photos

Place one bag of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) in a large bowl, add 3 sliced green onions, and the dressing. I suggest starting with about half of the slaw dressing first and add more as desired.

Stir until everything is mixed and coated in dressing. Refrigerate until the tacos are ready to serve. The coleslaw will soften a bit with time in the fridge, so if you like a super crisp slaw, wait to add the dressing until just before you serve the tacos.

Next, mix up the small batch of smoky garlic lime sauce. In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup mayo, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/8 tsp salt, and about 1 Tbsp of fresh lime juice (from half of a lime, save the other half to serve as wedges to squeeze over the finished tacos).

Pre-heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Once hot, toast the corn tortillas on each side until they are browned on the edges. Stack the toasted tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel until ready to serve.

76 comments on “Blackened Shrimp Tacos”

This recipe was fantastic. Despite the long ingredient list, most of the things I had on hand (spices, vinegar, mayo, etc) so didn’t need to pick up too much from the store. My corn tortillas were bad, when I toasted them they became rock hard and very chewy! Next time I’m going to stick with flour even if they might fall apart I like the flavor better. I cooked 1 lb of shrimp instead of 1/2 pound so I could use the whole bag, my husband and I are pretty big eaters and ate all of it for dinner. I doubled the seasonings and the butter, probably had a bit too much butter. Would definitely add an avocado next time. Winner!

Recipe was great! Definitely has a kick, but not too spicy. Both sauces were great; really loved the blacken spices as well. One could definitely cut back on the quantity of sauce, especially if they’re not huge mayo fans.

Yummmmmy!! Followed the recipe to a T. I mixed the awesome blackened seasoning and the slaw dressing ahead of time so it was really simple to put together for dinner. Next time I might try eliminating the coleslaw mixture and use the smoky garlic lime mixture for the slaw dressing. Beth do you think that might work well? Also would cilantro be good on top?

This is The bomb! I do have to agree with someone said about there being a little too much mayonnaise though, I believe I’ll use plain Greek yogurt and do half-and-half. I’m going to make this for my friends this weekend!

I’m loving the simplicity of these heavenly shrimp tacos. Also the hint to fortify the corn tortillas by toasting them is an excellent idea as I love to stuff them full myself. Terrific post and great instructions with this one, thanks for posting!

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »